Halo 3: First day sales hit $170 million

posted at 9:42 pm on September 26, 2007 by Bryan

To put that $170 million into perspective, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was arguably the most anticipated movie of the last 30 years, if not in the entire history of the film industry. Its first-day take: $28.5 million.

$170 million.
$28.5 million.

Revenge of the Sith would go on to shatter TPM’s first-day total to rake in about $50 million. Which is less than a third of what Halo 3 took in. Halo 3 also beat Spider-Man 3’s record of $150 million on the first day.

Besides the money, there’s the fan base. In its first day, Halo 3 has 1.2 million online users who have already killed off something like half a billion baddies in the game. The usage map spans the globe.

Halo is the new king of all entertainment. And I’ve never played a single minute of Halo, ever. What am I missing?

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

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Comments

If he, or anyone for that matter, can sit here for hours (and I know he frequently does), than his responsibilities allow him the same amount of free time gamers spend on games.

Believe it or not, right2bright, I have adult responsibilities too. Imagine that. I’m organized enough to go to work, clean my house, work out and STILL have time to play a game. Then again, maybe I’m the only one. Maybe all the other gamers out there are children who live in their parents’ basement and don’t have adult responsibilities.

Lighten up, have some fun. Let’s see you pulled out the Bryan card, and I made fun of that. I didn’t see Bryan jumping up and down.
We have a ton of serious issues we deal with on HA, this is not one of them.
You guys are way to serious about this, I am just sitting here doing some work and making foolish posts, and you are getting all upset.

Relax, it is funny, that you take it so serious. Everyone has their own past time. Some walk around a green lawn and hit a little white ball into a hole several hundred yards away…as if. Some waste time by catching a fish, and then releasing it…that makes sense. Some waste time posting on HA, others aren’t wasting time, but say some really interesting things. This post is not for them. Some people drink beer and try to sing, others just drink beer. All of them are a waste of time for someone who does not partake in the activity. But each one is valid to the individual. I happen to play tennis, a lot of tennis, wearing shorts at my age, chasing a ball for a couple of hours every day is pretty funny looking…and a waste of time (and money) for some who do not have those couple of hours a day to waste on a court.
A great way to relax is getting in front of the computer and play games (I don’t, so I make fun of it), my kids laugh at me trying to become the next Federer, and they do a pretty funny imitation of me on the court.
But the stereotype of a gamer who for 12 hours straight is trying to save the universe is a pretty funny image. White, pasty faced, eating french fries with their mouth open, drinking a large coke from McD’s, unshaven, blogging, streaming…whoops back to Bryan again.
C’mon, defending gamers, like most of you have, is pretty darn funny. At least it was amusing to me, and I am all alone in a basement…is it light yet? What day is it?

But the stereotype of a gamer who for 12 hours straight is trying to save the universe is a pretty funny image.

right2bright on September 27, 2007 at 3:19 PM

Yes, it is funny. I’ve known several of those types and don’t see them anymore and have no idea if they’ve ever made it outside.

I get that and am not talking about those comments. I’m not even upset, more annoyed. There’s just no reason to call everyone who’s ever played a video game a shut in, and that’s all I was referring to.

Relax you guys, it’s a little tongue in cheek teasing.

csdeven on September 27, 2007 at 3:09 PM

You’re full of it, really.

You follow that comment with…

Wasting away in your PJ’s in the house playing with imaginary characters is NOT equal to blogging on HA where we get to talk to real people and real this in the real world.

csdeven on September 27, 2007 at 3:20 PM

The characters on an online role playing game are exactly as real as the people right here on Hot Air.

And for both of you, I didn’t “pull the Byran card.” I was simply explaining one example of the person csdeven was calling a shut in.

Again, the teasing I get and am not commenting on. It’s the rabid whining about “adult responsibilities” and “adults who never grew up” nonsense that I’m arguing with.

right2bright, I’ve agreed on several occasions that these are just games. You’re clearly reading some anger into my posts that just isn’t there.

Thanks for helping me while away a little time…your a good sport…you should get out more (just kidding).

But now you’ve got me in trouble with Bryan. Have to spend the rest of the week kissing his…you know how he is. Those shut-ins get very irrational.

Bryan, have a way for you to make a million dollars…invent a “tanning monitor”. A tanning light built into the monitor, no one will ever know. You could look like a young George Hamilton, and still blog and stream, or BS as they say in the trade.

I’ve spent plenty time enjoying the Halo series. I see it as no different from watching tv or reading a novel or drawing a picture of your dog. It’s something you enjoy doing when you’re sitting on your couch. It has nothing to do with maturity or a waste of time. It’s not time you need to worry about getting back, because you would have spent it on your couch relaxing in some manner anyway. It only becomes a problem when you spend 8 hours a day doing it or when you neglect important aspects of your life because of it. And I bet that’s the exception rather than the norm.

The popularity of Halo 3, the rest of the first-person shooters, and the real-time strategy games seems to make it plain that men thoroughly enjoy killing enemies and taking their things. They just need an honorable occasion for their mayhem and high confidence of victory.

OH, THAT’S RIGHT!!! That’s how life is in the video game world! Guess what oh great and powerful gnarly one? This is real life, not a video game.

Sorry, this is fascinating reading–but how is “this” real life? This is cyber-space where you can be anyone you choose. If a blog is considered “real life”, I’m not sure what real life really is. Really.

Lots of comments on every game-related thread here on HotAir. We should capitalize on that…

HotAir Nights every Friday!
Vent, game, laugh, and have fun in a special online chat room on Xbox Live — 9PM in the Beast/6PM on the Waste!
-Get pWned in Dance Dance Revolution by Michelle Malkin!
-Hear the voice of Allahpundit as he snipes you from across the map in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter!
-Tell your friends that you played C&C 3 Tiberium Wars with Bryan Frickin’ Preston!

HotAir Nights every Friday on Xbox Live: It’s only for those who can take the heat.

One should also consider that online play popularity, does forward a “Liberal” agenda more than any other genre.

One can pick either side, Drug Dealer, Terrorist, Russian – good guys or bad guys – “What’s the difference”. In the past shoot em ups clearly put you on the “right side”.

Alien games blur the difference even further. And where humans battle monsters, it is a common theme that we “go to far”, have superior weapons, etc.

Frequently (as in Halo) you are put in the role of “bringer of chaos”. Before you enter the game aliens are usually milling around “peacefully”. You never see the bodies of fallen comrades in the earlier phase of hostilities, or the abused indigenous inhabitants.

Your first assumption that is in error is that its only about eye-hand cordination. You are definatly stuck in the 1980’s and need to upgrade!

The number one thing the DOD finds that is the main diference between video gamers and those military member that don’t play video games is that the players, no matter the eye-hand cordination skill level, are more able to recongnize multiple inputs of information and react to it in a timely manner. This is the skill set that quite frankly, DOD has found really can’t be taught.

There is no 40 hour block of instruction that can teach this, no text book written on it. There are plenty of research papers on this and the consenuse so far is that the best way to get such skill sets is to spend time playing games.

You need to read up on the unmanned STRYKER program and maybe you’ll see what I’m talking about, Dude.